Unrealistic Expectations: Character Portrayal and the Psyche of Both Genders

For years people have talked about how female video game characters are degrading to a girl’s psyche. 

As a woman, I scoff at the supposed armor that adorns Ivy from Soul Calibur (any version), but that doesn’t stop me from playing her. I realize that no woman could ever realistically expect to look like her. Just like no human being could ever expect to survive one hit from Siegfried’s garish sword. (I’ll exclude any obviously alien characters from this analysis because if you are expecting to look like one of them then you have bigger issues than I can tackle in one measly article.) 

Let’s be honest ladies, the gaming world is very much a patriarchal society in its own right.

Being the minority is both a blessing and a curse. Unless a company is targeting families, their games are most likely aimed at guys in their late teens to early thirties. While most men would never be caught dead with a barbie doll, that’s what they expect their female characters to look like. And as their secret bedroom fantasies are flouncing across the screen, they also expect them to be comparable fighters, survive hits without wearing armor that obscures their figure, and be acceptable to any female gamers who join in on the fun.  

Now, I’m not saying that all games are like this.

There are plenty out there that have perfectly realistic female characters and some even show women of all figures. But the thing is, those games aren’t the ones getting the press. The problem is that our focus is too narrow. The gaming world is spouting out criticism about female characters. True, feminists are on the right track when they point out that a female character is likely to have barbie proportions and armor more akin to lingerie than actual protection, but what they always seem to overlook is that the male characters aren’t exactly realistic either.

While we are sitting around talking chicks, all the male gamers out there are being brainwashed into believing they should look like a body builder on steroids who eats his conquests for dinner. Maybe I’m just supposing that men are more impressionable than they actually are, but I have a hard time believing that women are the only ones who could come out of this scenario with unrealistic expectations both of themselves and of the opposite sex. Why aren’t the men out there complaining about the images they are being presented? If the appearance of video game characters is so vital and influential then we should be campaigning for both genders to be portrayed more realistically.   

Why all the fuss about this in the first place?

 In all honesty, I don’t think this is really all that big of a deal. Do any of us seriously think that these characters and these games are realistic? Are we really naive enough to believe that we should expect the human race to look like some animated characters?

I’m content with picking my characters based on stats and choosing my “armor” based on color or epicness. I don’t care what Ivy wears or how many muscles Maxi has so long as I stand a chance of winning the game. Sure, Ivy would be hunch-backed in real life from her giant rack, but if she can go up against a character like Nightmare or Abyss then why can’t she have perfect posture?

If developers think that making barbie dolls and body builders is going to be what sells then I don’t see why we should stop them. Their money, their time, their choice. If you are really against these unrealistic images, start getting the word out about both genders. Fight for change in the entire industry, not just in part of it. As the consumers, we will be heard if we choose to converse rather than battle. Attacking the industry isn’t going to fix anything. We need be vocal with constructive criticism and we need to make it clear that we don’t appreciate unrealistic portrayals in any genre, on any platform, and for any gender. Otherwise, our voices will fall on deaf ears.